**Introduction**

Until I discovered 'King of Shaves' Shaving Gel I held the opinion that all shaving gels were pretty much the same finding that the cheaper, supermarket brands were on the whole just as effective as the premium brands such as Gillette. I tended to switch from brand to brand only ever buying a new can whenever I had run out or basing my purchasing decision on whatever was on offer or what was cheap. Shaving gel was a 'no-brainer' as far as I was concerned it was simply a necessity purchase that I had to buy to facilitate a wet shave so on the whole it wasn't something that I particularly thought about.

A while ago in Tesco I noticed that this particular brand was on offer giving away a free razor with every purchase, and at only £2.00 for a can of shaving gel plus a razor this struck me as being a great offer so I decided to part with my cash and buy a can. I have now been using this shaving gel for the past few weeks whenever I need to have wet shave and am now fully converted to the King of Shaves range and wanted to share my reasons why:

**The 'Bumf' on the can**

As there is no picture supporting this product I will briefly describe the can and the product description, it is simply designed predominately in black with the 'King of Shaves' (from now on known as KoS for the remainder of this review) name and logo on the front. I am told that the can contains shaving gel which is formulated for sensitive skin and has cooling properties in its ingredients. Unlike other canisters of similar product I am informed by the rather odd use of initials that the formulations of this product are "SSE" and "ALS"...

These are, apparently, "Skin Surface Enhancing" properties which according to the back of the can means that the product will "deliver our best shave ever with ALS (Advanced Lubrication System) that helps protect, moisturise and lubricate your skin throughout the shave giving superlative razor performance and glide. Your face will be left amazingly smooth, supple and moisturised"

As well as promising amazing results I am also reassured that the gel contains cooling menthol for a 'refreshing sensation' which is ideal for sensitive skin and that the product has been 'Dermatologically tested' and is unfragranced.

**Big claims I'm sure you will agree, so does the product live up to its self-generated hype?**

Well, actually, yes it does I'm happy to report. The first thing that I noticed when I dispensed a pea-sized amount onto the palm of my hand was that the gel had an aqua blue tinge to it which gave off a fresh, minty aroma. Generally shaving gel doesn't smell of anything other than a mild soapy fragrance so I was initially very impressed that this actually did smell of something other than soap. Gently rubbing my hands together I was alarmed at the amount of thick, white foam I had generated and straight away I realised that 'less is more' with this product. With cheaper brands I find that I have to dispense a lot of gel to generate a decent amount of foam, so assumed that this would be the same.

First lesson learned I applied enough foam to my face to allow me to use my razor and disposed of the remainder into the sink. The gel did feel cool on my face and made my skin tingle which was a pleasant experience and the minty aroma was still evident. Using my razor I noticed that it did indeed glide over my face and neck area with ease removing the gel plus stubble and the thick, creamy consistency definitely did aid the whole shaving experience. Unlike other brands that I have used in the past I found that the gel remained where it was supposed to and didn't slip down my face and neck or become patchy when allowed to settle for a few minutes.

Shaving is a tedious affair at the best of times and isn't a 'job' I particularly enjoy doing, however a clean , stubble free appearance is necessary at times so it is something that I inevitably have to do on a semi-regular basis. I do often suffer from razor rash on occasion too especially if my razor blades have become too blunt to be properly effective and sometimes find that my neck area can end up being sore after a wet shave. Happily for me the cooling and moisturising properties in KoS Shaving Gel has completely eradicated this issue and since using the product for the past few weeks I have had no reoccurrence of this annoying shaving related hazard.

After completing a wet shave and drying my face I have been left impressed with how my skin looks and feels, sometimes shaving can dry out my face leaving it feeling tight and looking patchy with red blemishes, Kos manages to moisturise my skin and leaves it smooth and supple; exactly what it claims to do! The minty component of the gel definitely removes any feelings of soreness that I used to be left with and overall I have found this to be a reliable and impressive purchase.

**Not just for men...**

Incidentally my wife has now taken to pinching my can of KoS gel for her legs and underarms and has also mentioned how much she likes it too. She claims that her legs feel smoother after she has used it and also rates it very highly. Luckily because you don't need to dispense a lot of the product to generate a decent amount of foam we have both managed to get plenty of applications out of a single can before needing to purchase a replacement otherwise there may have been some cross words in the Rooster household!

** Final Words***

It still amazes me that something as simple as shaving gel can actually be so complex and whilst all gels may look the same the practical use of the product reveals just how different they really are. A 'couldn't care less' attitude has always been my approach to shaving gels in the past but I am well and truly converted to KoS now and at around £2.00 for a can containing 200mls the price isn't that extortionate anyway.

For me then King of Shaves Shaving Gel has been an utter revelation and although that may sound like a grandiose statement when you consider that I no longer suffer from razor burn or any annoying rashes that made wet shaving such a hassle before I put the differences squarely down to this product. Nothing else has changed, I still use the same tap water, the same razor and the same shaving routine but now I use a different shaving gel and the results are noticeably different.

**Conclusion and Rating**

A worthy 5/5 dooyoo star rating from me and a product that I would have no hesitation in recommending to anyone, even if sensitive skin isn't an issue for you the other benefits of using this product will be made clear the first time you use it.

Thanks for reading my review.